, everyone, i'm tamron hall, the republicans unprecedented filibuster for chuck hagel's unprecedent nomination. . >> the filibuster is unprecedent. i repeat not a single nominee for secretary of defense ever in the history of our country has been filibustered. never, ever. >> senator reid needs five republican senators to join in tomorrow's vote or else the nomination will be in limbo. speaking from air force one, press secretary josh ernest. said, quote, these fill -- according to the senator historian's office, only two cabinet appointments have ever been filibustered. no appointment has ever been successfully filibustered. john harwood, as we understand it, john, the white house still feels confident that chuck hagel will be confirmed but they also believe this tactic may work against the republicans later on. >> well, it's an interesting test, tamron, because, you know, the white house has adopted a posture of trying to call the republican's bluff on issue after kwusissue. the white house is counting on it working in the case of chuck hagel. the white house has been calling out

feels confident that chuck hagel will be confirmed but they also believe this tactic may work against the republicans later on. >> well, it's an interesting test, tamron, because, you know, the white house has adopted a posture of trying to call the republican's bluff on issue after kwusissue. the white house is counting on it working in the case of chuck hagel. the white house has been calling out republicans on this filibuster and you just hadden john mcsay a few minutes ago that we're going to get to a 51-vote sequester. the white house has had success so far -- but the signs are positive that hagel ultimately will be concerned, the question is how long and is there any possibility that hagel in the meechbt decides to step out and take himself out of the consideration, at least that's not what the white house wants. >> big picture here, though, john, our first read team says this is a reminder for all future legislative fights and nomination battles. we'll see over the next four years, let's stop pretending this will change any time soon. meaning this particular strategy is somethi

itself. >> there's a lot of ill will towards senator hagel because when he was a republican, he attacked president bush mercilessly which anti-his own party and people. >> we don't have a secretary of defense in place and we're not going to because of a seven year old political grudge. >> joining me now is diane black. representative, great to see you. >> it's great to be with you. thank you for having me today. >> you bet. >> the president is about to honor six women who died at sandy hook and talking about gun legislation, the president said in the state of the union they deserve a vote. what do you think to the representatives who have made the same call? >> i want to say i cannot imagine being in the situation of the terrible losses that happened there at sandy hook and my heart goes out to all of the family members and that entire community. first of all, the president has not put a plan on the table and neither has the senate. but there are all kinds of solutions that the president is talking about. we have to talk about mental health. we have to talk about the people who

. >> debate on chuck hagel is not over. i am going to fight the idea of jamming somebody through. i'm going to hit you and keep hitting you. >> every republican there voted against moving the hagel nomination out of committee. there has to be a reason for that. why is it we're having to rush in to the confirmation. >> so just two days after the president's call to action to congress on gun control, nra ceo wayne lapierre is expected to give his decision on the state of the union tonight. hold on to your hats, it's going to be a doozy. he writes hurricanes, tornadoes, riots, terrorists, gangs, lone criminals, these are perils we are sure to face, not just maybe, it's not paranoia to buy a gun, it's survival. >> the republican party, if they were smart, their leaders today would condemn it, but they're not smart, they're scared. they're going to get hammered in future elections if they allow this clown to continue to lead them around by their nose. >> joining me now to talk more is wyoming's republican senator john barrasso also a member of the gop leadership team and chair of the republican pol

talk early childhood education. now, back in d.c., his nominee for secretary of defense chuck hagel is at the center of a senate showdown. even senator john mccain now backing away from his no filibuster stance of weeks past. the majority leader harry reid took to the floor of the last hour to make this impassioned plea. >> in less than two hours, our country will be without a secretary of defense. there is never in the history of the country been a filibuster of a defense secretary nominee. never. but it's shocking that my republican colleagues would leave the nation without a fully empowered secretary of defense. >> debate on chuck hagel is not over. i am going to fight the idea of jamming somebody through. i'm going to hit you and keep hitting you. >> every republican there voted against moving the hagel nomination out of committee. there has to be a reason for that. why is it we're having to rush in to the confirmation. >> so just two days after the president's call to action to congress on gun control, nra ceo wayne lapierre is expected to give his decision on the state of the uni

defense secretary, chuck hagel is on hold for at least now. republicans successfully halted his nomination until after the recess. >> it's just unfortunate that this kind of politics intruds at a time when i'm when i need a secretary of defense to make sure that the americans are getting the strategy that they deserve. >> john mccain offered this in to the pushback that the nominee is getting from within the gop ranks itself. >> there's a lot of ill will towards senator hagel because when he was a republican, he attacked president bush mercilessly which anti-his own party and people. >> we don't have a secretary of defense in place and we're not going to because of a seven year old political grudge. >> joining me now is diane black. representative, great to see you. >> it's great to be with you. thank you for having me today. >> you bet. >> the president is about to honor six women who died at sandy hook and talking about gun legislation, the president said in the state of the union they deserve a vote. what do you think to the representatives who have made the same call? >> i w

will towards senator hagel because when he was a republican, he attacked president bush mercilessly. at one point said he was the worst president since president hoover, said that the surge was the worst blunder since the vietnam war, which is nonsense, and was very anti his own party and people. people don't forget that. you can disagree, but if you're disagreeable, then people don't forget that. >> that was republican senator john mccain on fox news yesterday explaining why exactly he is participating in filibustering chuck hagel's nomination to be secretary of defense. he says chuck hagel is too darn disagreeable. so says john mccain. quote, in a heated dispute over immigration law overhaul, mccain screamed f you at john cornyn who had been raising concerns about the legislation. this is chicken -- stuff, mccain snapped at cornyn. are you calling me stupid chuck grassley once said? no, replied senator mccain. i'm calling you an -- jerk. at a gop meeting last fall, mccain erupted out of the blue at the respected budget chairman pete domenici, quote, only an -- would put together a

the senate. but president obama's nominee for defense secretary chuck hagel, he does have majority support in the senate. what happened today is that a minority of that body, the republicans, decided that they were going to block him anyway. never happened before. they filibustered a cabinet nomination. in the past, over the years there have been a couple of token efforts at maybe doing this in the past that got a handful of votes. didn't actually slow down or stop anything. but the minority actually blocking the nomination, that is a whole new thing. this is a fresh hell in american politics. and that is why before today, even republican senators said it would be nuts to do this. before today these senators, these republicans for example all said yeah, listen. i might be opposed to chuck hagel for defense. i might vote no on his nomination, but i'm not going to blow up 220-something years of precedent and filibuster the guy. i'm not going to block there being a vote on him. we've never done that before. republican senators john mccain, roy blunt, roger wicker, susan collins, lisa

haggling over chuck hagel. congress is on break but that won't tamp down the noise. even though the same republicans bashing him admit he's still likely to get the job. border patrol, parts of the president's hidden plan on immigration leak out into one nation's newspaper, prompting republicans to fight before the real debate even gets started. and ten years later, what some key players are saying about the decision to topple saddam hussein in 2003. >> good morning, happy president's day in minneapolis. it's monday, february 18, 2013, and this is "the daily rundown." here's chuck todd. >> thanks, brad, and happy president's day to all of you. but remember, the federal government says this holiday is called washington's birthday, so get it right. let's get to my first reads of the morning. defense secretary nominee chuck hagel may have stepped forward forward -- sequestering of the filibuster that put the hagel vote off another week. >> john brennan, cia director, and chuck hagel as secretary of defense, we want to make sure we have those guys sitting in the chairs working because i

finance committee. that could be probably not as fire worky as hagel. but still will come with some tough questions for him on his days at citi bank. of course, the president hits the road. you're watching "the daily rundown" only on msnbc. humans. even when we cross our t's and dot our i's, we still run into problems. namely, other humans. which is why at liberty mutual insurance, auto policies come with new car replacement and accident forgiveness if you qualify. see what else comes standard at libertymutual.com. liberty mutual insurance. responsibility. what's your policy? tdd#: 1-800-345-2550 tdd#: 1-800-345-2550 and the streetsmart edge trading platform from charles schwab... tdd#: 1-800-345-2550 gives me tools that help me find opportunities more easily. tdd#: 1-800-345-2550 i can even access it from the cloud and trade on any computer. tdd#: 1-800-345-2550 and with schwab mobile, tdd#: 1-800-345-2550 i can focus on trading anyplace, anytime. tdd#: 1-800-345-2550 until i choose to focus on something else. tdd#: 1-800-345-2550 all this with no trade minimums. tdd#: 1-800-345-2550 and

being -- >> i'm asking you a question, senator hagel. >> mccain, inhofe, graham, and cruz all trying to destroy the president's pick for secretary of defense, who just happens to be a republican. retired colonel lawrence wilkerson breaks down today's bizarre proceedings. >>> plus, jonathan alter on the new democratic plan to take back the house using citizens united. >>> another big-time republican reveals his disgust for moochers on social security and medicare. richard wolffe, howard fineman, and david corn break down the gop's ongoing problem with half of america. >>> and in center left america, it is no longer okay to be a homophobic professional athlete. >> to let all lgbt teams know that it gets better. >> we'll tell you about the inspiring backlash to a 49ers' anti-gay slur. >>> good to have you with us tonight, folks. thanks for watching. you know, if you had lunch with somebody every tuesday for 12 years, do you think you'd feel like you have kind of got to know them a little bit? chuck hagel must have felt blindsided today by old senate friends. because today republican senato

a great day. happy valentine's day! >>> the posturing around chuck hagel's nomination for a defense secretary, well, it's getting murkier by the minute. are republicans gearing up to deny an up or down vote for the pentagon kick before the weekend? >>> president obama's road show policy push hits atlanta today and we'll take a deep dive into the options and odds of the president having to fall back on executive actions, because his policies won't go anywhere in congress. >>> and the republican ruckus over karl rove's conservative counter-strategy is reaching a bit of a fever pitch. but is the core of this fight really about the messengers or the message itself? >> good morning from washington and happy valentine's day. it's thursday, february 14th, 2013. this is "the daily rundown." i'm chuck todd. let's get right to my first reads of the morning. it may be valentine's day, but not a lot of love for chuck hagel. next week a nato meeting of defense ministers is scheduled in brussels. but given the way chuck hagel's nomination is going, it's possible the u.s. may not have a new defens

criticize the president. speaking of cabinet picks chuck hagel, john kerry, and john brennan, the former vice president told the wyoming republican party over the weekend that "the performance now of barack obama as he staffs up the marshall security team for the second term is dismal. frankly, what he has appointed are second rate people." if you can't get him on the drone stuff, jonathan, go for the people who are manning the drones, basically. >> i guess it's a bit of sour grapes. i mean, what we're looking at -- notice that in the video that you showed january 21st, 2009. barack obama had just been inaugurated president not 24 hours earlier, and what we had seen from his promise to close gitmo to where we are now is someone who campaigned one way, but then getting into the white house, seeing the intelligence reports, seeing the breadth of manufacturings that you have, and then having to have to govern in a way that forces you to make really just uncomfortable decisions for someone like -- >> i would bet those are some of the toughest choices of his administration. >> i think david b

. ♪ chocolate. >>> right now on draen mitchell reports, hagel on hold. the defense nominee can't break that republican filibuster. now he won't be confirmed medical the senate returns from a week-long recess. >> the republican minority m senate seem to think that the rule now is that you have to have 60 votes for everything. well, that's not the rule. it's just unfortunate that this kind of politics intrudes at a time when i'm still presiding over a war in afghanistan. >> and is john mccain now conceding this is all a grudge match? >> there's a lot of ill will towards senator hagel because when he was a republican, he attacked president bush mercilessly, at one point said he was the worst president since herbert hoover, said that the surge was the worst blunder sense the vietnam war, which is nonsense, and was very anti his own party and people. people don't forget that. >> the heroes of newtown. president obama pos thumously awards the medal to six people who died while rescuing the children. >> dawn hotsprung and mary serlach, vicky solo, lauren russo, rachel devino, ann marie murphy. the

republicans blocked a vote on chuck hagel just because they can. >> well, it's valentine's day. love is not in the air. >> it's shocking. >> not a lot of love for chuck hagel. >> to filibuster of the senator's confirmation is unprecedented. >> unprecedented filibuster. >> the debate on chuck hagel is is not over. >> all roads lead to benghazi. >> i'm going to fight zblooes willing to fight to the very end. >> i'm going to hit you and keep hitting you. absolutely. >> who blinks first? >> nobody is quite certain. >> the filibuster of senator hagel's confirmation is unpress dented. >> not a filibuster. >> filibustered one of the president's nominees. >> who's going to filibuster? >> is that what they want? >> not a filibuster. >> the signal we're sending to the world is america can't get its act together. >> the sequester is there because the president insisted it be there. >> the president's sequester. >> republican dna is all over it. >> the sequester was the president's idea. >> the blame game just doesn't work. >> senate colleagues do nothing. democrats must begin to do their work. >>

republican colleagues would leave the nation without -- >> and that hagel hostage. the filibuster is a valentine's day spoiler for departing secretary leon panetta. >> the second best valentine's present would be to allow sylvia and i to get the hell out of town. >> good day. i'm andrea mitchell life in washington. the national rifle association has now launched a counter offensive against the president's emotional appeal at the state of the union. to put an end to gun violence. in a column published yesterday on a conservative web blog wayne lapierre from the nra announced a four-year communications and resistance movement, his words, to block what he calls a siege from the enemies of the second amendment. in washington to hear the president's appeal we'll be talking to mark kelly moments from now, but, first, to that breaking muse out of south africa rsh olympic sprinter oscar pistorius made sporting history by becoming the first track athlete double amputee to compete in the games, but today the blade runner as he is known, is charged with murder after his girlfriend was fatally sho

. >> hagel's frenemies. he gets roughed up by his former colleagues in the senate. >> i have already stated that i regret the terminology. i should have said recognized instead of legitimate. if i had an opportunity to edit like, it like many things i've said, i would like to go back and change the words and the meaning. >> will he be weakened even if he is confirmed? and final act, for now at least. it's hillary clinton's last day at the state department. >> so these last days have been bittersweet for me. but this opportunity that i have here before you gives me some time to reflect on the distance that weave traveled and to take stock of what we've done and what is left to do. >> and as she leaves the state department this afternoon, john kerry will arrive to be sworn in by justice alina keggen, and nor sentimental sendoff. 30 rock ends its seven-year run with lots of laughs and familiar faces. >> looked like another cold one in the midwest. >> bundle up, everyone. if you can, get hit by a car. >> according to the national weather service, you should, and i quote, leave work, get

essentially anti-hagel that is hoping something will happen. 1346 this is about that under current of not believing in their view that hagel is the right man for the job, but they know when they come back it is more than likely that he will get that hurdle passed and already has 57 committed yeses, more than enough to put him in the job. >> as the time continues, it's a drip, drip, drip process. they keep trying to tag him for benghazi and get that letter that they got yesterday while we were on the air from the white house lawyer on benghazi as to what the president did and what did he know, when did he know it, and did he go to bed while leon panetta was up all night? that just seems so extraneous. it's just using chuck hagel as hostage for the lerchlg because wasn't even around during benghazi. >> it certainly seems -- andrea, i guess i'm skeptical of the idea that in the week's time they really need time to review what chuck hagel has said in the past, his speeches. he know chuck hagel has said controversial things about iran and we know he has said controversial things about homo sex

we get to chuck hagel, the sort of train wreck that happened yesterday, ruth marcus, the white house is coming out or hhs is coming out with new rules to liberalize the guidelines so that religious institutions are somewhat insulated, somewhat more insulateded. first of all, they're going to more broadly define religious institutions. also, give a separate provider so that the religious institutions themselves don't have to provide birth control to their employees. >> well, first of all, you said white house, and even though hhs issues these guidelines, one can be fairly sure that the white house was closely following this because this has been a difficult issue for them. what they did today was really an elaboration of a plan that they had proposed earlier. the theory, as i understand it, is that it won't be the employers strog pay for couldn't are a acceptings, nor will it be women having to pay for the contraseptive coverage. the insurers will foot the bill. >> the third parties. >> on the theory that they will save money in the long run because pregnancy is pretty expensive. as i

chuck hagel's rocky ride before the senate armed services committee. >> well, i said it, and i don't remember the context or when i said it. if i had an opportunity to edit that, like many things i've said, i would like to go back and change the words and the meeting. and i think in a larger context, i've said many, many things over many years. >> so the reviews, they are in. and take a look at some of the headlines today. the "new york times" saying hagel has rough outing before ex colleagues. the hill, hagel delivers shaky performance. "the national journal" is chuck hagel failing. >> i really regretted the lack of civility and respect for a man who has fought for the nation, been decorated for combat heroism. and who was obviously a thoughtful and insightful person when it comes to many of these issues. >> i've thought about this a lot since yesterday. i want to give the president the benefit of the doubt in who he can bring to his cabinet with him and who can join him in the cabinet. but in this job, at this time, i will be voting no in the committee, and then assuming there's a

headlines in the papers today, the reviews being in on chuck hagel's performance on the hill. skprael taking it on the nose from his former colleagues. want to remind everybody how that hearing went. take a look. >> the surge would be the most dangerous foreign policy blunter in this country since vietnam. were you correct or incorrect? yes or no? >> my reference to the -- >> senator hagel -- >> well, if you would like me to explain, why -- >> well, i actually would like an answer. yes or no. >> well, i'm not going to give you a yes or no. i think it's far more complicated than that. >> name one person in your opinion who is intimidated by the israeli lobby in the united states senate. >> well, first -- >> name one. >> i don't know. >> well, why would you say it? >> i didn't have in mind a specific person. >> perry, republicans in what you're hearing in washington, d.c. proud of the performance they demonstrated yesterday? >> this is a very unusual hearing. usually when an ex senator comes to be nominated for something, his former colleagues treat him nicely. hillary clinton had that, john k

. chuck hagel's prospects for running the pentagon are going to hang in limbo for another two weeks as senate republicans get exactly what they want, more time. folks, delay is rarely a good thing when it comes to these fights. also this morning, a deep dive into iran's upcoming election as ahmadinejad heads out of office, the world wants to see which way his successor will take the combative country. >>> and a monumental moment lambs on capitol hill, with the retirement of new jersey senator frank lautenberg, there will be no more world war ii veterans in the u.s. senate. what's that mean for our politics and our national perspective? >>> good morning from washington. it's friday, february 15th, it's t"the daily rundown." i'm chuck todd. president obama is standing by his embattled nominee for secretary of defense, chuck hagel, as hagel's former senate republican colleagues put up a major roadblock yesterday in their attempts to not just delay the nomination, but try to kill it. >> the yeas are 58, the nays are 40. one senator announced present. >> and with that senate vote, chuck hag

committee will start to debate and then vote on chuck hagel's nomination as the next defense secretary. this is a first vote. we have a live report from capitol hill and we could see fireworks yet again surrounding chuck hagel. >>> plus, police make an arrest in the murder of the chicago teenager who performed at the inauguration. this arrest happening just before her parents are set to attend the state of the union as guests of the first lady. behold water so blue it merges with the sky above. behold natural beauty above the sea, and far below. behold smiles so wide they stretch across the face of an entire nation. behold...the islands of the bahamas. with command strips from 3m. designed to stick and eliminate odors anywhere. like this overflowing trashcan. to test it, we brought in the scott family. so what do you smell? beach house and you're looking out over the ocean. some place like, uh, hawaii in like a flower field. take your blindfolds off. aw man! [ screams ] [ laughs ] that smells good. i wouldn't even just put it in the trash, i'd put it in every room. stick it to eliminat

be an all issue two. heat over hagel. commander in chief barack obama has nominated charles chuck hagel for secretary of defense. hagel testified before the senate armed services committed tee this week. is senator john mccain grilling hagel about hagel's opposition to the surge in iraq in 2007. >> were you correct in your judgment. >> i would defer that to history. >> when you were right or wrong about the surge. >> i'll explain why i played those comments. >> i want to know if you were right or wrong. that is a direct question. i expect a direct answer. >> senator hagel explained he opposed the surge in iraq because it cost nearly 1200 american lives. >> i saw the consequences and the suffering and the horror of war. so i did question a surge. i always ask the question, is this going to be worth the sacrifice? because there will be sacrifice. >> that was hagel's emphasis on the cost factor. my question is this. his emphasis on the cost factor in military decisions, does it serve as a dodge to senator mccain's bullet? or did he mean this completely from the heart? and if he did,

hearing with secretary clinton, we saw in the confirmation hearings with chuck hagel that cruise was by far the most prosecutorial, the most aggressive of the questioners of both of those folks, and he is someone who makes no bones about his -- both his ambition and his willingness to buck how the senate is supposed to work. we're going to hear more from him before we hear less. >> you know, the way the senate is supposed to work is that you don't ask a question about the friends of hamas until you check out whether there is even such an organization as the friends of hamas. just saying. margaret, could marco rubio and the foreign trip. he has credentials and has given foreign policy speeches. here he was with king abdullah. he was in israel and had a press conference there, met with netanyahu. he is really -- there he is with shimon peres. there is quite a lot of activity by marco rubio, even since the state of the union water episode. >> well, he has now checked his foreign policy box. you'll remember these are not always easy trips. mitt romney did not have a good trip -- when it

unconnectedness, attacking chuck hagel, for example, because no one will give us info or anyone info about the benghazi situation even though hagel wasn't even in the government when benghazi happened. sick stuff. and it seems to be growing in inverse proportion to obama's popularity. the better he looks, the worse these characters, inhofe, cruz, mccain, and lindsey graham, are determined to look. did you notice the smile on john boehner's face sitting up there behind the president during the state of the union? if you did, you're imagining things. so afraid of the hard hating right of republicans these days of every stripe, even boehner's scared to death of looking like he might like something barack obama had to say. to do that is to risk political death in these days. let's go at it. our guests are joy reid of the grio and michael steele, former chairman of the republican national committee. both are msnbc analysts and good ones. let's take a look at this. is this delay on the hagel vote about playing for time hoping new information comes out about them? "the new york times" reports tod